


A Study in Turquoise

by Diddle_Riddle



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Catwoman Has a Sidekick | Catlad | Stray (DCU), Catlad AND Stray, Edward Nygma is Catlad, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Good Parent Selina Kyle, He is also already a smug brat, Hurt/Comfort, I'll add tags as the story progresses, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, In fact she has two, Jason Todd is Stray, Little Eddie is a cutie, M/M, Mystery, Siblings, Supernatural Elements, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25629241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diddle_Riddle/pseuds/Diddle_Riddle
Summary: As the adage says, "we all need to start somewhere".Edward couldn't have predicted he would start with a shooting star.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain/Jason Todd, Edward Nygma & Jason Todd, Jonathan Crane & Jason Todd, Jonathan Crane/Edward Nygma, Selina Kyle & Edward Nygma, Selina Kyle & Jason Todd, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Edward Nygma, Stephanie Brown & Jason Todd
Comments: 25
Kudos: 32





	1. Shooting Star

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Keira_Paimaster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keira_Paimaster/gifts).



Outside the quiet moments reading about advanced science theorems at the library, not many things brought Edward Nashton joy.

In fact... nothing else brought him joy at all, when he thought of it.

At least he had this: a furnished library, here at his birthtown in the countryside. He spent most of his free time in the middle of its shelves of books, where he could learn, make entertaining discoveries, nourish his genius. He possessed no phone or laptop, so thanks to the computers at the library, when he sat at a desk in front of one, he felt like he had access to the whole world.

He loved the feeling. He wanted to... know everything. This goal might sound _ambitious,_ nine years old Ed was convinced challenge is what makes a person _somebody,_ what gives all its _sense_ to life.

Right now though, it's not 'everything' he targeted, but a field he had never been particularly interested in before: geology.

Eddie glared at the pages of the third book in which he perused the sections he deemed adequate to answer his questions. Flustered not to find strictly what he looked for, he switched to a computer. Like at school, whereas the equipment is not new, the old-looking electronical devices fulfill their purpose. Ed had recourse to Internet mostly to read articles or watch videos that describe SPACEX's latest achievements, when reportings he saw on TV intrigued him and he felt the need to find _more._

His dad had the absolute control over the remote anyway, so whenever Eddie glimpsed something prone to entertain him, he could count on his old man to change the channel within the minute.

Therefore: the library is, without a doubt, his best friend here. It never failed him.

Except _today!_

 _Blue stone,_ he typed in the search bar. He selected the 'Google pictures' entry. Range of stones of every shades of blue aligned, as expected. Ed scrolled down the page a few seconds, his light green eyes studied the images, hoping he'll find one identical to his rocks.

Clearly, the key words are not specific enough.

He clicked on the search bar once more to rectify his request: _turquoise stone._

Like in the articles he just read in the enclyclopedia, albeit some pictures were close to what he aimed for, these were not... exact. A stone reminiscient of the one he longed to analyze could be this one: larimar. This gemstone comes in a variety of blue shades, in pale green-blue and in white, this looking closer to an opal.

The bright turquoise shade matches.

However... his rocks are not _integrally_ turquoise. Some have a... sort of thin _vein_ of a different color, that runs across the iridescent blue akin to pictures Edward saw of lagoons.

"Interested in gemstones?", the librarian noted as she sneaked a peak from behind his shoulder.

Eddie looked up.

Between articles in books and in the Internet, he read everything about the components of stones approaching his subjects. Once again, he didn't realize he stayed until the closing time of the library, Miss Burt will usher him to the exit, in a sort of routine established since the past years.

"I investigate over magnetic turquoise rocks."

"Turquoise?", she highlighted. "Why, it's your favorite color?"

"No... my favorite color is green.", he rejected, while feeling pleased he got an occasion to talk about himself. "I recently met turquoise stones, these are... beautiful. Unfortunately, I don't remember the gemstone name, I'm trying to find it back."

"Since it is turquoise, perhaps it is... a Turquoise?"

Eddie huffed. Miss Burt was nice with him, she grew used to see him here all the time. Still, he _loathed_ being treated like a moron; her remark significantly displeased him.

"That's what I checked _first.",_ he assured between gritted teeth. "While the color matches, to me it... can't be that simple. So I looked into other stones what share the aspect of mine."

"And what did you find?"

"Lots of informations... none that provided me valid clues to define what rock it is."

He sighed.

"In the end I... guess it's a turquoise. I might keep this label."

She smiled at him in a mild supportive manner while he packed his things to leave the library. Ed didn't return her smile. He hated being taken for an idiot. But what he hated even more is what reflected behind Burt's glasses: pity. He couldn't _stand_ being pitied.

__________

_[Two days ago:]_

To see a shooting star, especially in August during the season, has nothing extraordinary.

Having the impression one of said shooting stars is in fact a meteorite is rather common as well.

Being persuaded the meteorite entered the atmosphere in your State and ended up landing in your town, at the lake where you customarily enjoy peaceful moments, is utterly different.

Far less ordinary, more like... exceptional.

Edward loved the sound of this word. Exceptional. He was fond of how it rolled on his tongue, its freshness, the characteristics it showed.

Exceptional means unique. Outstanding. Remarkable.

That is exactly what little Eddie wanted to become.

In its natural form, a gemstone is not necessarily impressive. Pretty at most, but not... noticeable. Nothing more than a rock. It takes lots of work to transform said rock into a jewel, to reveal the beauty where it's merely suggested.

Since his youngest age, Ed spent long hours watching the stars, his elbows on the windowsedge of his bedroom, his gaze lost in the ink black night dotted with shimmering lights. He learned their names. Coupled with his... intellectual predispositions, his eidetic memory allowed him to memorize an _impressive_ number of exact informations; Space counted amongst his favorite topics from as far as he could remember.

For this alone, he was glad his birthtown is a rather small one: the public lights aren't too luminous. In an agglomeration, he wouldn't have been able to spot stars as precisely as he could here.

Tonight, his window opened and his eyes riveted on the sky, Eddie was grateful the gentle, warm breeze of summer brushed against his face. It gave him the impression to be shushed as it dried his tears and made him forget about the recent pain through his body, where his father hit earlier in the evening.

Nothing too critical today, just blows. Didn't change the fact it... hurt.

The stars comforted him, they had this reassuring power.

When he saw the meteorite, Ed instantly isolated where it landed. The sight lasted less than two seconds, it caused not the slightest noise. An almost invisible line of light shone from the sky to... the West side outside town, at the lake he frequently walked to.

Edward arched an orange eyebrow. He found an activity to practice tomorrow.

Although he hoped he'll find evidences when he walked on the lake edges, he didn't expect he'll meet... this scene at the creek he preferred: a small beach of pebbles circled by medium-sized rocks. In the middle of the colorful pebbles, a few centimeters before the water, stood a... common grey stone, which _wasn't there_ at the beginning of the week when he last enjoyed a tranquil afternoon at this location.

Except that... the stone apparently _exploded,_ spreading a handful of blue rocks in its trail.

Physic laws danced in Ed's mind. This was not logical. A meteor this size should have made at least a small crater, plus the stones it released? Their appearance is... too perfect. As if they've been _polished_ by an artist, they are comparable to luxury items one contemplates in a vitrine.

Eddie knelt in front of the rocks. He pushed a bit the grey one to have access to what the geode contained. Curious, he grabbed one turquoise stone, in which was comprised a green vein, drawing like a... thin _question mark_ on its inferior left corner.

The sensation at the instant he touched it made him jump out of his skin.

He got _burned!_

The blue stone sent a powerful electrical shock that travelled from his fingers to his arm and crossed his entire body in a fraction of second. While painful unto the moment, no aftereffect lingered.

Edward blinked a few times.

He conveyed his knowledge on magnetism and electrical impulses. Nothing he was aware of explained this... abnormal contact.

Curiosity got the best of him, he couldn't help but _reiterate_ the experience.

This time, nothing happened. He seized the same rock, lifted it up to examine it. It was soft under his touch. Pleasant. He wanted to stroke the smooth surface. A large smile made its way on Ed's lips. He stepped in the shoes of Indiana Jones discovering some priceless artifact.

A drop of blood fell on the stone, harsh reminder of how he _shouldn't smile broadly_ as long as his split lip, memory of yesterday evening's feud with his dad, isn't healed.

"Sorry...", he whispered apologetically to the rock. "Didn't mean to stain you."

He was about to wipe the blood with his sleeve, when... the rock _absorbed_ the red drop, it entirely _disappeared inside it,_ not altering anything to the gemstone's shade or shape.

Eddie blinked some more. Nothing he ever read on magnetism evoked such a strange reaction.

Certain objectives materialized in his brain: one, he will gather the blue stones and make sure no one else finds the ones he'll keep, like a... personal treasure of some sort. Two, he must go to the library. He had _urgent researches_ to make on geology.


	2. Guardian Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: you might get warm and fuzzy feelings upon reading this chapter.

"How many d'ya have?", the little boy frowned, eying the blue rocks.

"Nine.", Edward introduced, glad he got an occasion, even a very _unpredictable one_ like this, to talk about his self-proclaimed treasure. "Like the Nazguls.", he specified to justify their number.

"The... what?"

"It's from Lord of the Rings."

This street kid might be the first person he 'trapped' into listening to his babbling: he couldn't leave and won't punch him to make him shut his mouth.

It's an opportunity thirteen years old Eddie would not waste. 

"They were nine powerful human lords living in a land of myths and magic.", he activated the 'storyteller mode'.

Until today, he had no human being to narrate tales. What is a shame, since he has always been a smooth talker who loves to imagine and formulate stories. Still... according to the dark-haired child's _bored gaze_ and _pronounced yawn_ as he begun, perhaps Ed should... cut this one short.

What a pity.

He did so nonetheless, not tempted by the prospect of receiving a disparaging remark.

"The Enemy forged one ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. The Ring corrupted their minds.", he summarized accordingly. "It turned them into immortal creatures of darkness doomed to serve a master."

"Dat's... super creepy."

"It's a beautiful story.", Ed countered with a smile. "I couldn't take them all with me when I ran away to start anew here in Gotham.", he completed, pointing at the rocks. "When I'll launch my own business and win enough money, I'll rent an apartment and build myself a decent social status. I'll wait to acquire stable incomes to retrieve the ones I left in my birth town; nobody will find them, they will wait for me. I selected nine pretty stones that have a... let's call it _practical_ size to travel. The main criteria was if I can clench a fist around one without having it protrude too much."

"Ya mean... your other stones are... big?"

"Or small.", he confirmed. "Some are merely turquoise _dust,_ while the larger one weighs around six kilograms."

"I don't get it: ya have a box full o'gemstones ya left in da countryside before comin' to town. _Why_ didn't ya bring them here to sell them on the black market?!"

"They are _not_ for sale. They're mine."

Jason eyed him with disbelief, surprised by his sudden dry tone.

"... If ya like them so much, keep a few... like yar 'Ghuls there. And sell the others. I can show you if ya want, I know who woul' give ya the best price without askin' questions. Just give meh a li'l share, and I'll help ya selling yar rocks."

"Are you deaf? I told you I _keep them._ All of them."

"Ya have a reserve of cash hidden somewhere that coul' help you begin a business or whatever ya referred to, yet you... choose ta live like a street kid too. You are so _weird,_ Ginger."

Eddie shot him a merciless glance –what, let's face it, didn't impress the younger one much–.

"You speak like a caveman, you have no manners in addition to be an ungrateful brat.", he retorted. "Who's the 'weird' boy here?"

"Ya, always."

They shared a mutual bat-glare, as to dare the other to go on with the provocation.

It lasted about twenty seconds during which they stared at each other, in a parody of some typical Western scene starring two adversaries in a dusty lane who are about to draw their Smith & Wesson to open the duel.

In place of a gunshot, their visual fight got punctuated by joyful sounds when they both _bursted out laughing,_ well aware of the comical aspect of their situation.

Now that was a comforting feeling.

Jason Todd allowed himself to let go of the tension. Waking up in a stranger's hideout in his current weak state could have turned a _nightmare_ depending on the person who found him. As it seems, he got lucky.

Very lucky.

"Do you want something specific?", his improvised host inquired in a delicate intonation. "You'll be hungry and exhausted for at least the incoming days. Try to limitate your movements, we'll adapt how to behave depending on the evolution of your wounds."

The... gentleness this _stranger_ expressed while Jay has nothing to offer him to return the favor almost made him feel like... he was propelled back in his parents', at the _distant era_ of before his mother vanished and his dad cast him out.

Forcing himself to keep the feelings bottled, he responded:

"I'd go for a burger. And fries. And coca-cola."

Edward smiled.

"Fine by me.", he validated. "There's a Macdonald's three streets from here. If I leave you alone to do a quick round trip, you promise you won't do anything that would worsen your injuries?"

"Promise..."

But as the redhead grabbed his jacket, Jason felt the urge to highlight another... odd element in his demeanor.

"Ya're goin' to... leave me in yar place?", he pointed out. "Ya don't fear I'd steal somethin' and run away before ya come back? You are _really_ not a Gothamite..."

The ginger teen addressed him a confident smirk.

"You are a street kid.", he listed, stepping in the shoes of a detective who makes deductions during a case. "Who doesn't have anyone else; no matter who are your contacts, there's _none_ you trust enough to ask for help when you were bleeding, with broken ribs and bruises all over. You got in a fight, managed to escape, crawled to a side alley where you passed out and visibly stayed for _hours_ given the appearance of your wounds and the dried blood on your clothes when I found you. You could have as well died, and if I was... I don't know, a psychopath or a sadist, I would have had _plenty of time_ and instances to hurt you as I brought you here. Now compare your options: you can leave, if you walk your every steps will _hurt,_ you won't go to a doctor and you have no one to take care of the follow-up of your injuries. Plus it's kinda cold out there at this season. Or you can stay here; by doing so, you behave correctly, you don't steal from me, you bare my intellectual and nerdy chatting. Your choice."

He concluded by a complicit wink.

"As for me," he complemented, apparently proud of his effect (to Jason, that individual is a _showman_ who would be over the moon if he became an actor...), "I am pretty sure what you will choose. Furthermore now you evoked it, I want a burger too."

With that, he left. Leaving Jason at _his_ place, not worried in the slightest about being robbed from the meager possessions he stored here.

The eight years old boy blinked. That teen is a _quirky fellow._

"Okay...", he whispered, alone in the living room / bedroom / sole space since the apartment has an open kitchen.

Aside from the entry, the other two doors lead to the bathroom and a small closet.

Jay authorized himself to relax, leaning on the thick mattress placed directly on the ground that served both of bed and couch.

He was in pain, but he felt strangely... safe, in this old building. He heard of these locations, all based on the same concept: soon-to-be-destroyed. Between the instant the municipality decides to level the place and the moment the site actually begins, those buildings stay... unoccupied. Sometimes for days, sometimes for _months._ With everything _else_ there is to take care of in this town, these places are not often the priority.

This one still has running electricity and water, Ginger certainly isn't the only one who squatted a flat in the building.

When Jay opened his eyes earlier, he had a monstrous headache. This was predictable after he stole in a house... and got caught then beaten up until he managed to run from his three chasers. He fainted in an alley behind a massive trash can, his ribcage on fire, his skin turning purple at multiple spots and bleeding where the blows hit the hardest.

He expected to wake up at the same place in even _more pain_ since nobody would have treated him.

Not to... lie on a comfy surface at an unknown location, a bandage circling his middle, with someone who _took him in charge._ His initial legitimate reaction had been panic as he retreated on the mattress.

"It's okay!", a teenager knelt at a reasonable distance, hands in the air. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you. You're safe."

Jason blinked a few times, his breathing laborious, elaborating the best way to knock that stranger out to then hurry to the door.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Who da fuck are ya?!", he spat aggressively. "And why did ya... bring me to yar place?!"

"My name is Edward.", he answered in a collected manner, not taking offense of the rudeness. "Without a doubt, I am the closest thing you can benefit of to a _doctor,_ you've been lucky I spotted you. I thought you were dead if it wasn't for the wheeze. You have two broken ribs.", he pursued because the kid seemed at a loss, not knowing how to apprehend the singular circumstances. "The bones should heal normally, their angle hasn't been torn: these are lesions, not messy breaks that could have damaged the organs. The blows impacts aren't pretty and they'll _hurt,_ but there again, nothing that won't heal."

"Ya... brought meh to yar place to heal me."

"I was bored and you can trust my medical skills, I have enough experience to make a good job."

"Dat's... a puzzlin' explanation."

Ed granted him a faint smile.

"You're a child.", he reminded in a lower tone. "Who clearly doesn't have a home and who has been beaten to a pulp. I would have regretted it if I didn't do anything after I saw you."

"... Personal moral code issues?"

"More like 'not acting indifferent like the adults in my life' kind of issues."

This sounded peculiar, rushed and... lightly unrealistic. To Jay, nobody is _kind_ without asking for a payback.

"Ya're not from Gotham, are ya?", he guessed, narrowing his blue eyes.

"... I arrived less than a month ago. Is it that obvious?"

This time Jason smiled. His unexpected guardian angel seemed... fun, in the end. He blamed his unwise reaction on his dizzy state.

"It is.", he assured mockingly. "Ya're not a city boy."

Afterwards Ginger –Edward– described the follow-up he envisaged for his injuries, gave him a painkiller and water. Even if the ambiance was... bizarre, Jason didn't feel scared. At some point he noticed three blue stones on the old kitchen countertop.

"They're my friends.", Eddie anticipated the question as he followed his gaze. "I brought the main ones here with me."

"Yar friends are... rocks."

"Yup. They're more open-minded than people."

"... If ya say so. How many d'ya have?", he had queried consequently.

At present time, after their exchange followed by the I-go-out-to-hunt-fries-and-burgers mission, Jason relaxed.

His host left, he could just... put the rocks in his pockets and disappear, why not. He'll sell them on the black market.

This appeared a prudent solution, one he would have seized if it wasn't for... the fact the teenager _indeed_ played doctor. Being a street kid, he couldn't go to a clinic or at the hospital. They'd either refuse him or send him to child services.

As for the recourse to illegal medicine practicing? Those places are the _worst,_ after he had been forced to visit one to heal a broken ankle, Jay promised himself not to step inside these scary labs again.

Right now... staying here remains the most adequate _temporary_ option.

Jason refrained a sigh. Instead of standing up, he put his head back onto the large pillow and waited, invaded by a... hard to define, peaceful sentiment.


	3. Treasure Chest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not Spanish, neither do I come from a Spanish-speaking country, I simply know a bit of this language. Since Catwoman is Latina American in my headcanons, I decided to have recourse to a few sentences in Spanish for this chapter, with the translation written between [-]

"What are they sayin'?", Jay murmured, low enough for them not to risk to be spotted, but making sure his partner-in-crime heard.

"Hell if I know.", Ed whispered back, the two of them not taking their eyes off the scene while they talked. "I don't speak Spanish."

"Then how d'you know it is Spanish?"

"Because it _sounds_ Spanish. That I isolate which language they're talking doesn't mean I understand it or can hold a conversation."

"Geez, I _almost thought_ yar nerdiness coul' have been useful, for once."

Edward bat-glared at him, to what Jason replied by a board smile.

Glass shattered. They both startled, what they _instantly regretted..._ although no need to worry, nobody noticed them. They focused on this _scary_ sight they caught completely by accident.

Edward is fourteen, Jason nine years old. Over the past year and a half, to their own surprise at first, they... stuck one with the other. Initially, they both assumed this would be a temporary arrangement they settled for given its practical advantages: Jason knows the town and how it works for street kids down there, Edward balances with his capacities in various fields including stealing and medical area.

They spent a few days together. Weeks. Months... until they simply couldn't think their way of life as anything but a Dynamic-Dynamite Duo of their own. Birds of a feather flock together.

Not only Edward and Jason adopted each other, Eddie's... so-called 'friends' welcomed Jay in their circle as well. This had been a strange moment: Jason grabbed a rock inadvertently, to help Ed gather his stones one day in their early partnership. At the contact of his fingers against the smooth, polished surface, he felt invaded by a deep... warmth. It didn't burn, the feeling would be closer to the sensation when entering in a bathtub filled with hot water. Not _too hot;_ sufficiently to procure a profoundly relaxing feeling, like a wave of... calm, ideal to wash away any form of tension, physical or psychological.

Then the appeasing feeling disappeared, replaced by a stabbing pain inside Jason's chest, so abrupt and violent he screamed in shock: he believed someone attacked him with a knife from behind. He let go of the stone, barely registered Edward who hurried at his side as he fell on his knees. Tears pricked in his mismatched blue eyes, his breathing came out laborious... After under a minute that felt like hours of intense suffering, the feeling withdrew integrally, not even the ghost of a wound left.

When Jason had touched the rock again, nothing happened, and none of the eight others reacted like that.

To Jay, such a scary experience would be a _legit reason_ to throw those blue stones away. To Edward, it meant they let Jason in, he was _super happy_ about that.

"They like you!", he had exclaimed, delighted. "This is so great, you must be pleased they sent you such warm greetings!"

"... What is it that doesn't turn round in yar brain, Ginger?! This thing literally attacked me!"

"They don't have mouths, eyes or ears.", Ed pointed random facts. "How do you think they'd communicate?"

"Ya mean they coul' attack me 'gain?!"

"Not that I'm aware. Sometimes I touch mine and she... comforts me, but I never received anything from her siblings."

"Her?"

"She's a female. Couldn't tell you how I know that, I... feel it."

Jason noted the green question mark included, like a vein, inside the turquoise stone Edward referred to. When paying attention to the stone he held, he saw a similar small vein inside the polished, jewel-looking rock: of a crimson red color, it figures a... cross, reminiscient of a Christian cross except for its pointy edges on each four extremities and the tiny circle around the junction point of the two lines.

"So... that thing likes me."

"As it seems!"

"And it coul' what, help me through? Give meh clues when I try ta figure out somethin'?"

"That's what mine does for me, sometimes. And even though the others never behaved, just their view help me... relax."

"I feel like I'm getting into somethin' waaaaaay too weird for me ta handle."

Thus Jason rounded off this odd interaction with Edward's gemstones. One year and a half passed. Over this time, not once, he thought again that the teenager's bizarre attachment to the objects is strange. When staying around these things long enough, plus having one that is like a _friend_ constantly near him, Jaybird concurred: it feels... good.

Nothing near as good, though, as finding a brother with whom he got to play, steal, progress, learn, laugh, bond, stay, share... live.

Right now, their latest brilliant idea got them inside a... box.

An actual chest they jumped inside of. Via the interstice between the lid and the lower part of the large box, they spied on the people who seemed on the verge of jumping at each other's throat: they visibly disagreed on how to lead an interrogation of their prisoner.

Ed and Jason's plan of the night never involved stumbling upon a settling of accounts between thugs and... Catwoman. They broke in a toy factory which also serves for trafficking of heroin: once crammed into stuffed bears dedicated for this purpose, it makes it easier to circulate with the drug to thereafter deliver it to clients. That's Gotham for you.

Jason and Edward aimed the electronical devices from the control room of the factory, which are very easy to sell on the black market.

They disconnected the camera system they studied prior tonight, weren't worried about this mission they meticulously elaborated. They didn't reach the control room yet, when they detected noises of people entering... and them yelling, alongside a loud _bang!_ sounding like one hit the wall with an iron bar. Too far from the nearest door to leave without getting noticed, they frantically looked for a hiding place... Jason grabbed Ed's sleeve, pointing to the pirate-looking chest nearby. The kind of items you find in a place what's about toys for kids and illicit merchandises for unsavory people.

They just closed the cover above their heads when the main room has been invaded by five men and a woman. Everything in their appearance screamed of typical thugs, maybe dealers.

They tossed a bag on the floor, opened it... to reveal a woman dressed in a mix of black leather and spandex. Her wrists tied behind her back, so were her ankles. Her emerald green eyes shone with rage despite her not being in a dominant position, as attested by the trickle of blood dripping from her split lip, the visible bruises on her face and the several bleeding cuts on her bodysuit.

The goons yelled, the 'leader' of their group pointing an accusing finger in her direction whilst another made her sit on a chair to tie her more efficaciously.

"Do you think she stole somethin' from them?", Jason whispered.

The man slapped Kyle after she spat on his face when he dared to come too close to look intimidating.

"Perhaps.", Ed bit his lip, distressed. "Whatever she did anyway, they are trying to find out something. Likely the place where she keeps what she stole, or who are her accomplices."

"How d'you know that? I thought ya didn't speak Spanish."

"I don't. But I speak body language and I am _able_ to pull together pieces of a puzzle."

"Un consejo amistoso: _abandonas,_ Roman. **[** _A friendly advise:_ leave it be, _Roman._ **]** ", Catwoman said, a wicked grin spreading across her lips in spite of the recent damages. "No esta en tu interés jugar con los grandes. Desde luego, el jardín de infancia echa de menos su favorito aspirante-a-ser-el-matón del patio de recreo. **[** _It's not in your interest to play with the big boys. Surely, kindergarten must miss its main wannabe-bully of the playground._ **]** "

The supposedly leader's teeth gritted so tightly it made Edward and Jason wince.

"¡Escucha! No voy a repetir. **[** _Listen! I won't repeat myself._ **]** ", he growled, his expression distorted by rage. "Dime a quien le haya hecho, no puedes ser la sola persona para ejecutar esa accíon. **[** _Tell me who is involved, you can't be alone to fulfill this._ **]** "

"¿Qué es lo que a ti no te entiendies en el título de 'solitario ladrón'? No tengo cómplices, robarte fue igual que hurtar dulces de niños. En tu caso, uno... repelente niño. **[** _What is it you don't understand in the label of 'lone thief'? I don't have accomplices, stealing from you was as easy as taking candies from a baby. In your case, an... hideous baby._ **]** "

This induced a scream from the man, who slapped her once more while she laughed, openly mocking.

"¡Espera! **[** _Wait!_ **]** ", one of his allies caught his arm before he hit again. "No funcionará de esa manera. **[** _It won't work like that._ **]** "

Roman growled, then retreated to debate of their options with his colleagues.

"Ya okay?", Jason put a hand on Ed's upper arm when he felt his bestie shaking next to him.

"N-not really...", he croaked out, not bothering to hide he was _terrified._

He curled up, his slender calves pressed against his chest, he put his chin on his raised up knees and his arms hugged his legs tightly, making himself look the smallest possible.

"We gotta help her."

"What?!"

Jason addressed him a supportive smile.

"Worry not Eddie, I know what ta do."

"That's absolutely _out of the question,_ you..."

Jason was already opening the lid. The five men and woman weren't watching in Catwoman's direction, this was _the_ moment to intervene.

Ignoring Edward's pleading fingers which desperately gripped the lower part of his jacket to silently try to discourage him, Jason reached the chair.

It's not the first time he makes himself invisible. When stealing, entering people's home without being caught is an essential skill. Sometimes, it failed. But most of the times, Jay exited the house with his booty without anyone noticing he sneaked in.

Edward is just as prudent and discreet, he _could be_ as good in practice if it wasn't for his excessive dose of _stress_ that often makes things complicated, and which right now... keeps him from moving an inch.

Jason discarded to scream a proud "Yes!" when he crouched behind Catwoman's chair, out of the smugglers' line of vision without them registering his movements. He took his pocket knife out to cut the ropes.

____________

"Who were these men?", the younger of the two asked while Selina allowed the redhead to clean her wounds.

Whereas she didn't foresee to follow them to their hideout, since said place wasn't far and because those kids were obviously not a threat for her, she complied. A clever move in the end, given how precise and neat the teenager's stitching is where it's required.

"Roman Sionis and his close collaborators.", she unveiled, venom audible in her voice. "He's a rich man who has contacts in the mob, and until now never managed to do anything neither with his fortune nor with his life."

"Let me guess: something changed?", Edward inferred.

"Indeed: he's trying to become a crime boss. Too bad for him, he doesn't master elementary skills to hide secured informations and blueprints for his incoming schemes."

No debería atacar a mi corazón. **[** _He shouldn't have attacked my heart._ **]** , Catwoman added internally. Nadie agrede a mi familia y salirse con la suya. Nadie. **[** _No one hurts my family and gets away with it. No one._ **]**

She won't tell those kids this loser dared to kidnap her sister. From the day Selina rescued Maggie and after the younger woman left Gotham for good, the Cat promised herself to make that monster's life a _living Hell._

So far, she succeeded. This being said, the help of those two children as been... welcomed.

Unmistakably street kids, given their stitched vests and trousers, plus the bags under their eyes and this... shadow on their face, typical of Gotham's children who experimented the harsh side of life.

When she saw the little boy sneaking to her, she noted his silent walk, mildly appreciative. And then... the events could be described as panic. Utter, big _panic._

The thugs noticed the kid whilst he was cutting her ankle ropes, they yelled at him... and things got a tab messy when Edward shot to protect him. He may didn't kill, the first person he aimed bent over under the impact. So he used his gun at last! These were rare occasions, Jason grinned upon seeing the, albeit scared, determined look on his face.

"Over there, Ed!"

How they made it out is another mystery. None of Selina's injuries were serious; she threw the chair at their direction to slow them down. Even with how fast she acted and Ed's few shots, that didn't explain how they suddenly became bulletproof as they reached the exit closest to their position.

Used to strange solutions to clear a tricky situation, Selina hypothesized one of the two, or _the two_ are mutants or magic users. That would justify why Sionis and his goons missed _every single shot_ and didn't manage to... catch them when they ran out of the factory.

Oh and, the Cat concedes: shooting four times on one of the main massive machines hanging from the ceiling to make it fall in order to provoke general confusion and create a diversion has been a great idea. Looks like both those boys are skilled at surviving, she confirmed this instinctive assumption when at their hideout.

First it was to make sure the smugglers won't be hot on their trail: she is the best at disappearing without leaving a trace, alongside Batman. It's normal she let the kids benefit of her experience after they gave her a hand while nothing forced them to.

But once she was certain they put enough distance between them and these people, for some obscure reason they... didn't walk divergent ways. The shorter one asked if she wanted medicine for her wounds. She refused... and ended up in their current hideout (an abandoned bus in the back of an automotive depot, located in this same area where most factories in town have been clustered) regardless.

At present, the teen stitched a cut on her shoulder, she removed the upper part of her bodysuit, staying in her undershirt whilst he worked efficiently, after having given her a glass of water. Oh and, the dark-haired one also admitted they are _big fans,_ what his eldest didn't deny, attesting they shared the sentiment.

Selina Kyle felt flattered. Looks like Bruce isn't the only one who meets admirers every night on his way to stop crime.

"Who are you guys?", she inquired at last.

"Name's Jason Todd. I'm a pure blood son of Gotham, and Eddie's adopted."

"Edward Nygma.", he specified his full name. "And... just like Jay said."

"Ya speak Spanish.", the blue-eyed one, _Jason,_ highlighted. "It sounds funny."

"... If you want, let's call it 'funny'.", she arched a thin eyebrow at the chosen term. "I am 100% bilingual, so don't worry for communication. I'm born in Gotham too."

"Yar parents were from Spain?"

"Jason, don't harass with questions, that's not..."

"It's okay.", she smiled upon seeing the ginger, _Edward,_ feeling a bit at a loss. "And no, my mother was Latina and my father American. Inherited of both halves."

"Are yar parents dead?"

"Jason..."

Selina laughed at this boy's total lack of boundaries and how the teen awkwardly tried to make him stay polite.

"Not that I'm aware.", she responded nevertheless. "And not that I wondered about them in many, _many_ years."

Needless to develop on her roots, she is an adult after all. She could query where are _those children's_ parents, but they likely fit one of these profils: dead, violents, neglectful or quitters. As a Gothamite, she wouldn't bet on another scenario.

Now... they should part ways, not dwell on what happened tonight. They have no reason to stay together. Therefore Selina couldn't explain why she proposed, in a friendly manner that... didn't quite sound like her:

"Wanna learn cool things?"

They shared a glance.

"We...", Eddie was about to decline.

"Hell yeah!", Jay cut with enthusiasm. "And just so ya know: we love cats and birds."

"... Then we may get along.", Selina laughed.

In general, she doesn't project herself onto the future (not even onto the next month...), so it's not like she offered them a contract for a partnership. Over the following hours however, sharing tricks with those kittens seemed the... most adapted thing to do.

And the most funny, too.


	4. Cat Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just me enjoying the bonding-drabbles format...

"Luck is not a super power.", Edward frowned, skeptical.

"So I thought.", Selina stretched, no pun intended, _like a cat._ "You boys proved me wrong: in situations where you _could_ get hurt, you escape without a scratch. It's like your every moves are covered."

Ed and Jason shared a glance. They never saw it that way.

"I assure ya," Jay shook his head no, "we are not a model of 'lucky' kids."

"You may weren't, you _became_ in what you undertake, right? Even if you didn't realize, I feel these sort of things."

She should keep them around. They could be... helpful. Not to add, it rapidly turned out _very funny_ to spend time with them.

(())

"It's like havin' a second cat, who just doesn't stay at da house.", Jason qualified their new-found arrangement with Selina Kyle.

"What 'house'?", Edward retorted, taking another bite of his burger. "We literally live in the streets."

"Pfff.", Jay punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Ya know what I mean."

"I do."

They shared a smile.

The view on Gotham is beautiful: at night, sitting on the edge of a small-sized building flat rooftop, their legs dangling over the large concrete sill, they watched this animated part of town swarm with life under the lights and musics of the numerous bars and restaurants of this street.

Catwoman came and went. Sometimes they spent the day or the night with her, training and sharing survival tricks. At a few occasions, they... sorta participated to small heists. It felt tremendously thrilling every time.

"If Selina's the second... does that make me your first cat?"

"Definitely!", Jason claimed happily, ketchup on his cheeks as if there is no other option when eating a hamburger than ending up with the lower part of his face coated with sauce. "That's no breaking news ya're a cutie-nerdy-kitty."

"... Fine by me. Everybody should love cats, they brighten a day and will rule the world with their natural charisma and adorableness."

"That suits ya."

"Yup! After all, I am the light of our lives."

They both giggled like the kiddos they are.

(())

"You can't live without us anymore: we are too important to your emotional balance."

Selina rolled her eyes.

"Hanging out with me is causing your confidence to develop a bit _too much,_ Eddie dearest."

"Maybe it does...", he hummed, pleased with himself.

Truth is, he sincerely enjoys those sessions.

Nearly as much as Jason, whom as for him is able to replicate and learn almost all the Cat's moves. Or at least, he tries his best, and his best is always valued by their doesn't-want-to-be-called-a-mentor-yet-is-totally-becoming-one esteemed... ally.

"And hanging out with us is causing your until now buried kindness and inconspicuous motherly instinct to blossom.", he mirrored smugly, to what Selina replied via a parodied murderous glare.

"Careful, that word cannot get spread.", she joked eventually. "I have a _reputation_ to uphold, that never involved caring for kittens. I am not Batman."

"Sure you aren't!", Jason intervened, a big smile on his face after the acrobatics he performed. "Ya're so much better!"

"... Thanks, little one."

In the background, Edward coughed something that sounded strangely like "motherly instinct". Selina didn't lecture him for it... _this time._

(())

"It's not like you could keep coming with me wearing ripped attires. You have to look _good._ "

They did adjustments to find a fitting design for the uniforms.

Jason added a hooded sleeveless red jacket to his leather black bodysuit, completed by black boots, a thick red belt which held his recently-acquired cutlass and leather whip. His other weapons were a few small blades hidden in compartments inside his shoes, on the external side of his thighs, and two thin retractable blades inside his red soles, which he could make appear on the tip of his feet with a specific kick. Practical in a fight. The costume got complemented by trademark red cat ears on his hood, light red goggles and gloves ending with sharp, tiny metal claws.

Edward opted for a black bodysuit closer to Selina's design, only with green stripes on both external sides, from the ankles under his dark purple boots to the wrists, alongside small green lines in the fabric of the costume, and a purple belt which held pouches for firearms in addition to small blades. No claws for him, but fingerless black cotton gloves: in a mission, he has the hacker role before being an into-the-field player, even if he easily switches from one to the other. No hood either: his mask figures two black cat ears –very visible on his orange hair– and extends on his temples to include the shape of a white-eyed domino mask on the upper part of his face.

Needless to say, they were eager to go out live it up dressed in their, as Jason described them: "badass cat-costumes". Not that stealing or breaking in houses is new; this whole... upgrade nonetheless, changes a lot of things. With Catwoman, entering not only in homes to steal money, food, clothes or medicine but in actually _secured places_ propelled their habits to another level. Now, just like Selina, they enjoyed the _luxury_ these robberies procured them: a radical transformation in, for example, their hideouts.

Edward is Catlad, Jason is Stray.

They don't live with Catwoman, albeit they see her outside schemes, for training, playing, having fun, during elaborations and into the action. Like a team, even if Selina can't bring herself to use this designation given its... slightly _scary_ implications of 'bonding' and 'attachment'.

(())

It surprised Eddie and Jay to attest Selina provoked no reaction from the stones.

"They must be intimidated.", Edward reflexioned, frustrated the rocks don't share his brother and him's enthusiasm over the major change in their way of life.

Selina got the redhead is a nerd and that Jason... shares a lot of this 'futile' knowledge too, gained at his eldest's contact. They were amusing, both of them. Still, she had no idea what they meant when saying they somehow... communicate with their turquoise stones. Notwithstanding this, if these are the origin of their 'forever lucky during heists' quality, she approved.

It figured amongst the additions to their costumes. She proposed it as a gift: turning their stones into necklaces at a jeweler who's an ally of hers. _Without piercing, fine,_ she agreed when they argued they can't hurt the rocks.

Creating a simple, stylish silver shell around the tip of the rock in its upper side allowed the jeweler to attach a silver chain for it to turn into a necklace without digging into the stone.

By the way, they added a thick green question mark on the fabric of Edward's bodysuit, on his chest above the heart. Same went for Jason's pointy-edged cross with its circle around the junction point: in red on his chest and in black on his red vest, for the symbol to be apparent whether he zipped his jacket or not.

Their kept their turquoise stone hidden, the necklace safely secured under their suit.

(())

Selina smiled with fondness.

The little geeks slept, curled up on the large couch when she returned from her night out.

Although she doesn't stay all week with them, the kids lodge in her luxury hideouts... nearly _all the time_ by now.

At present they were huddled together in the sofa like they would in a nest, with the grey kitten Jason rescuded last week, whom they adopted. Or perhaps it's _the kitty_ who adopted _them._

Since then, the little female they named Isis, stuck around.

Selina delicately put a blanket over the three sleepy kittens. She didn't hold back a tender, protective smile. It has its... truly endearing side, to adopt stray cats.

(())

"No alcohol!", Edward scolded, categorical.

Selina laughed.

She concurred not to give a sip of her wine to Jason despite the boy's demand as they celebrated a victory together.

"Does it mean we're villains, now?", Jaybird asked later on.

Robbing a watchmaking boutique is a step higher than sneaking inside apartments.

"Nothing will happen to you.", Catwoman promised. "If I get caught, I'll spend between two weeks and two months at _most_ in Arkham, the average stay there is under a month before escaping."

"They aren't very skilled at keeping criminals locked.", Eddie chuckled.

"They are not! It's almost like the place is made _on purpose_ for us not to stay over too much time. Gotham would get bored without its rogues free to conduct their daily business. However, you guys won't visit Arkham.", she added more seriously, stroking Isis' fur. "Batman and Robin don't harm children, they won't arrest you even if they catch you during a heist."

"It will be sorta cool ta see the bats.", Jason commented. "Gotta meet the family."

Selina's smirk increased. She had no doubt her boys will require to meet her colleagues from the Rogues Gallery some day soon.

(())

"So that's your new lobby? You... endanger children by making them your sidekicks?!"

Catwoman laughed.

"You're one to talk, _bat-daddy._ ", she jested, sarcastic. "Just wait until Robin and Batgirl meet my boys."

Bruce growled. His ways to look intimidating don't work anymore with her, Selina barely smiled. As often when they met, to respect their aesthetic they stood... on top of a building under the moonlight.

"I hope you know what you're doing.", Batman concluded darkly, disapproving. "Those children visibly love playing your allies, they _trust you._ I believe you should not keep them with you but _if you do,_ do not let them down."

"Worry not, Batsy.", she whispered. "I am not letting go of my kittens."

Bruce was persuaded this will be... peculiar. Also, he decided he'll keep an eye on those kids.

(())

Edward purred in front of the control room of the museum. Isis watched his fingerless gloves dancing above the keyboard, her golden eyes paying attention to details as his computer virus destroyed the database of trafficking of paintings this museum dissimulated. In the mean time, Jason and Selina aimed for the, as for them authentics, Egyptian jewels they aspired to _remove_ for these to arrive in their personal collection.

He loved their sense of priorities and was certain Jason and him won't get tired of these... activities. The opposite: they will get better, perform schemes, become somebody, get recognized... in this business, they have a whole _life_ ahead of them.


	5. Attractions

Meeting Batman had been an amusing anecdote.

Yes, 'amusing' is the word Jason would use to describe their prime interaction with the vigilante... for the reason Edward and him came across a scene rather _funny to witness:_ Batman and Robin, quarreling on the rooftop of a house in the quarter they passed through.

Quarreling... more like on the verge of fighting.

They couldn't help: in lieu of walking away or making a detour, they _had_ to reach the Dynamic Duo's current location.

"Ya look so weird'n pathetic when ya contest Bats' orders.", Jason judged Robin as soon as they put their feet on the roof next to the two of them. "Got daddy issues, Birdie?"

Robin stared. Whereas he must be around eighteen, his age alone doesn't justify his adolescent crisis of the moment.

"It's either that," Edward backed up, "or Batman proves of a blatant deficient parental authority."

The cats grinned, proud of themselves.

"I leave it here, this roof is becoming _too frequented for my taste._ ", the younger adult ended between gritted teeth. "We are not done."

Without further ceremony, he fired of his grapple hook and disappeared in the night.

The Bat slowly turned to the Catkids.

"Where is Selina?"

"Not with us tonight," Stray answered, "we are on our own doin' mischief."

Batman sighed. Jay and Ed have nothing against the hero, quite the contrary, they were pleased to talk to him. Visibly, the Dark Knight doesn't nurture negative sentiments towards them either, for he asked in an audibly _tired_ voice:

"Whatever 'mischief' you planned, don't do anything _too dangerous,_ okay? I am not in the mood to play savior over the incoming hours."

"And you, you should stop pushing him.", Edward recommended, softly but firmly. "Robin seems ready to quit."

The three kept quiet a handful of seconds, thereafter a cheerful Jason exposed:

"Dat's funny ta give authority advises to Batman."

Even the Bat must concede it _is_ amusing.

Robin _indeed_ quited a few weeks later. Only a couple of months following his departure, Batman showed up with a second sidekick. Closer to Jason's age, this one must be two or three years younger than him.

"Hello birdie-boy!", Stray waved one evening, he elegantly jumped from the fire escape where he perched to land next to him on the ground of the alley.

The kid looked up, unimpressed.

"Batman told me about you and your brother.", he let out flatly, not even pretending the informations interested him in the slightest.

"What did he say?", Jason picked an occasion to brag. "Da big guy praised me?"

"Not really..."

The cat smirked. This timid, wanna-look-blasé little boy seemed an intriguing prey to play with.

"Do not insist.", the kid warned as if he guessed his thoughts, in a surprisingly severe voice. "You and I cannot be friends."

"Why?"

"Because you're a _baddie._ "

"... I tend ta consider mysel' more of an in-between."

An in-between who missed no occasion from now on, to tease, infuriate and chat with the bird every time they met, during schemes or outside when walking on rooftops.

___________

"What are you doing?"

"I strive to build an edifying conversation with a block of ice.", Edward chuckled.

Said 'block of ice' has a name: Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. Over the past two years, Crane hadn't shared more than occasional 'hello' and small talks with Catwoman's sidekicks. He barely interacted with Selina Kyle to begin with, not subsequent to a troublesome history but because of lack of things in common. Catwoman and him have sparse interactions when incarcerated at the same time, for the rest they share polite nods when meeting at the Iceberg Lounge. Therefore, same goes for her non-officially adopted boys. Crane briefly acknowledges them when they barge in at the Lounge; since they're never to be seen at the asylum nonetheless, he hadn't properly _talked to them_ so far.

Not that he disliked their company, most rogues convened they _are_ charming and everyone actually loves having them around during events.

This being said, the professor had no real interest in getting further invested with them. The feeling was reciprocal... until this evening.

Stray was busy flirting with White Rabbit whilst playing with his rogues buddies, the young Firefly and Killer Moth. In the mean time, Selina and Harvey did a drinking contest.

While Jon loves his acquaintances and the sympathetic moments with them, he usually doesn't _stay_ when they morph into hysterical teenagers. Pamela shared the opinion until recently: she got involved with Harley Quinn, Joker's partner. As their friendship began to blossom, the doctor Isley found herself participating to more and more activities with Harleen, simply to please her. This amused Jonathan dearly, he was glad his partner in the 'spooky realm' finally learns how to relax... moreover with his _former favorite student_ turned rogue! They truly live in a small world.

However, none of that explained... why Catlad suddenly abandoned the heated ambiance of the main room of the Lounge in which he habitually enjoys to be a little star under the spotlight. The teen arrived on the outside terrace adjacent to the reception room where guests isolate themselves to smoke.

Jonathan doesn't smoke, he uses the terrace as an excuse to take a temporary break from the air saturated with too many noises, before trying to fit in again.

"Heya doc'!", the teenage boy greeted him forcefully, all toothy grin and mischievous expression, this was transparent despite his cat-shaped domino mask covering the upper part of his face.

Or perhaps it's the opposite: his mischievous expression _is_ reinforced by his cat-shaped domino mask, Jon couldn't tell.

"Admiring the stars?", he pursued when Scarecrow responded to his enthusiastic approach by a bored gaze and a vague nod. "I understand that.", he appended himself, not giving the older one time to answer. "I love to spend nights watching the sky. At this hour in this period of the month, we are well-placed to contemplate Orion and Cetus."

He pointed successively to two precise portions of the sky, without an hesitation albeit the stars are hard to spot due to the light pollution, very dense in the giant agglomeration that is Gotham City, so especially in such an animated part of town.

Jonathan didn't get why the ginger went on about constellations, sharing knowledge on a topic that clearly fascinates him.

"What are you doing?", he interrupted somewhere in the middle of his speech.

"I strive to build an edifying conversation with a block of ice."

The teacher didn't highlight the provocation.

"Why?", he rather interrogated.

The kitten shrugged, his expression slid to wondering.

"Just me being curious about you."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

Edward laughed wholeheartedly at the quick repartee.

"Lucky me then, I've got nine lives."

He winked, what looked... sort of funny with his mask. Jon allowed himself a faint smile.

It flustered him when, after detailing laws of attraction between stellar objects, the kitten stood on his tiptoes and grabbed the side of his coat to pull him down. The doctor didn't get the intent of the movement, he bent at Catlad's level... and he _froze on the spot_ when the redhead put a delicate, chaste kiss on his cheek.

"Pleasure talking with you, doc'! We should totally do that more often!", the kid concluded, giggling, before he went back inside to enjoy the party, leaving a Jonathan Crane incapable to move, think or react as his brain failed to process what just happened.


	6. Science Realm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More bonding-drabbles...

"I changed my mind.", Jason announced, in his played solemn intonation this sounded like some parody of an official verdict. "Robin isn't that interesting, in the end."

Selina laughed.

"Told you so.", she retorted, whilst stroking Isis' soft grey fur.

The cat purred and stretched, her paws waving slowly on the wooden surface of the table where she lied on her left flank.

"There's somethin' I don't get.", Jay pursued. "What is Ed doin' with Spooky Scary Skeleton?"

Catwoman smirked. Edward turned seventeen, Jason twelve. Little kitties grow up so fast...

"From what I picked, it's one of his experiments. He is 'on a case'."

"A case ta figure Scarecrow out?"

"As it seems."

Albeit she doesn't quite understand his willingness to get invested with that strange man, as the supportive mom she is, Selina approved of her Eddie getting closer to more people.

(())

Things actually... worked out.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. Just passing by.", Catlad offered the doctor a broad smile.

Jonathan pushed up his square glasses on his nose.

"Passing by? At my hideout, in my _lab?_ "

"Hu-hu.", the teen nodded. "By the way, you totally fit the nerdy bachelor type: your apartment is a mess, there's nothing looking edible in your fridge, your kitchen cupboards are almost empty, your sheets seem to be washed once in a blue moon and you have zero esthetic products in your bathroom. Ever heard of something called 'skin care'?"

The professor was honestly at a loss, he failed to figure out what the kitten wanted to obtain. _If_ he wanted something to begin with, he could as well be there simply to distract himself.

"You... combed my flat?", he pointed out, not knowing what else to reply.

"Of course. If you don't mind, next time I might do a bit of cleaning."

"I mind.", he rejected. "Now get out.", he ordered, he reckoned he's been patient enough with that inquisitive kitty.

He bet he'll have to argue to get rid of him, but the sidekick shrugged and agreed:

"As you wish. See ya, doc'!"

He left by the window, firing of his adapted grapple hook. As far as Jon knows, while Catlad is not an acrobat, he does a good job of handling himself in a fight, and he compensates with more gadgets to fly across town nearly as well as his fellow cats.

(())

"Admit it, you _hadn't_ thought it through via this angle."

"I... admit.", Jonathan conceded, not bothering to hide his admiration after watching and listening to the boy who demonstrated his innovative approach of a toxin formula.

It happened regularly over the past weeks: the kid stormed in at his place to talk biochemistry, Jon's field of predilection. Scarecrow discovered how talented the boy is; in addition to be a quick study genuinely interested in Jon's thesis and works, he also brought his own pertinent conceptions.

Today once again, they lost count of time as they corrected, added and elaborated on the white boards before switching to the practical application thanks to Jonathan's furnished chemistry equipment.

(())

"Not you too?!"

"Just passin' by."

The former psychiatrist sighed loudly. Having the black, green and purple-cladded ginger cat over is one thing. He has no objections about this: he attested he _can't say anything against it._ But he has no reason to tolerate the one dressed in black and red, whom speaks like a caveman and has no qualification whatsoever in science.

Yet... both Catlad and Stray made themselves at home and ended up visiting twice a week.

When did Jonathan sign up for hosting cats...?

(())

"It's a fragment of a meteorite. One of the... multiple fragments of said meteorite."

Jonathan watched the pendant on Catlad's shirt.

When he stopped by, the teen wasn't always wearing his full costume, sometimes he mixed the leather and spandex with civilian clothes. He never took off his mask though, he showed up either with his stage cat-shaped mask or wearing a simple domino mask circling solely his eyes. Jonathan found himself wondering what color those eyes could be. What shade matches the best with his pumpkin orange hair, milky skin and lightly freckled complexion? Hazelnut? Dark brown? Black? Grey? Pearl grey? Forest green? Opal green? Blue-green? Ocean blue? Baby blue? Colbat?... and so on.

... Turquoise? Could his eyes be reminiscient of the drop-shaped polished gemstone tied via a loose silver chain around his neck?

"Very pretty.", the teacher commented, gazing at the necklace. "If this is a meteorite, I take it you don't know what stone it is?"

"We settled for 'a turquoise'.", Jason answered as he entered by the window in synchronization to grasp the question.

"But it can be something else entirely.", Edward complemented.

Jonathan smiled. He found this whole deal sincerely captivating.

"Are the green question mark and the red cross _your_ symbols you added on your necklaces, or did you adopt these _because_ they figured on your stones beforehand?"

The brothers shared a glance.

"I think we... won't ever know.", Eddie whispered. "It feels like it's _both_ options at the same time."

(())

"They like you."

"I don't."

Selina chuckled, amused by Jon's desperate tone of voice.

"You don't yet you enjoy spending time with my boys."

"Who said I 'enjoy myself'?!"

"What do you think?"

She laughed again at his pitiful expression. This was not up to debate, her kids adopted him. Edward with a different, deeper dedication; Jason plainly because he likes getting along with his brother's newest friend. Selina wondered if she should give Eddie 'the talk', or if for now he remains at the 'interested in him' phase without getting his attraction is, in truth, akin to a crush.

(())

"So now... you also hang out with Scarecrow.", Batman watched the teen standing proudly by Crane's side during a heist of his.

"Yup! The good doctor is a nice company once you get to know him. Plus he is intelligent, highly qualified in science, patient, funny and handsome. Stray and I are training his social skills to complete the picture."

Jonathan pretended he wasn't _blushing crimson_ of embarrassment under his burlap mask, upon seeing Catlad and the Bat discussing casually of his personality, social capabilities, talents and looks.

(())

Batgirl tilted her head to the right.

"Ya look scary.", Jason grinned at her. "You shoul' come over some day, ta set up a contest against Jon over who wears the spookiest mask."

Cassandra laughed softly. Stray was... fun.

"Are you... inviting me?"

"Yes I am!", he claimed with pride. "You should join the cool side."

"I am already in the cool side."

"No you aren't. Proof is: there's a bat on yar chest."

Cass giggled again. She appreciated meeting him periodically from then, alongside Catlad slightly less often. And indeed, her encounter with Catwoman and Scarecrow had been an entertaining moment.

She refrained herself from querying whether Catlad and Scarecrow are a couple or not yet. After all, no need for her to hear it confirmed: it may seem paradoxical for an illiterate, she _reads_ body language and the veracity between the lines better than anyone.

(())

"Why?"

Edward winked at him... without his mask on.

Eighteen years old Ed removed it in Jonathan's company for the first time, after over a full year visiting, hanging out, leading scientific experimentations, chatting, participating to schemes and sharing more 'standard' slices of life with him; generally speaking, over a full year being _close_ to the Scarecrow. Both stood on a flat rooftop, it's tradition in this town: vigilantes and villains _must keep_ the together-under-the-moonlight-on-a-roof aesthetic. One doesn't betray Gotham's romantic setting.

"I wanted you to see me without a mask before I take the next step."

His eyes are green, in the end. Light, mint green irises. How... beautiful.

"What is the 'next step'?", he quoted, emotion tightened his throat, he felt touched by the unmasking gesture.

"Take a wild guess."

Prior the professor got to formulate an inquiry, Catlad stood on his tiptoes and grabbed the _front_ of his shirt to pull him down for a kiss.

Jonathan didn't react immediately when they parted. While he hadn't responded to the kiss, the smooth contact of their lips caused an intense, peaceful sensation to bloom inside him.

"Why have you done that?", he asked again, delicate, with an infinite tenderness.

Edward's hands still gripped Jon's front shirt as he clarified, teasing:

"I am just curious."

Jonathan was... pleased, a warmth of a new kind invaded his chest as he looked down to the boy.

 _His_ beautiful cat-boy.


	7. Little Eggplant Queen

"Can I stay here tonight? Dad will be home, I... don't want to bear having him around. Even _less_ now than usual."

Edward nodded, he didn't ask for an explanation.

He spoke to Arthur Brown here and there, when the orange-cladded guy participated to meetings or social events at the Iceberg Lounge. None of their talks left him a significant impression... aside from the established fact this dude deserves to _stay_ a C-list loser.

There is a major difference however, between being a simple-minded plus a hint ridiculous villain, and... a bad parent. Until Edward met Spoiler, he didn't mind much the man's silly remarks and anything but clever puns.

His opinion on him changed when at Art's once. Not that Cluemaster became anything near a partner, nonetheless Ed worked with the dude from time to time. Catwoman taught her boy well: he is fully aware he _must_ use at his advantage everything he can. Therefore, he has no issues playing on the more than obvious (and kinda desperate) crush the blond man has on him, since no way Arthur would refuse anything coming from him... even when he consciously uses him as bait during plans, not even bothering to hide he doesn't give a damn about his fate.

Catlad's flirtings to obtain things amuse everyone amongst his close circle, Jonathan included, the doctor knows his boy is just playing.

That afternoon, he elaborated a scheme in the Browns' living room with the owner of the house... until the door opened, revealing a young girl coming back from school.

Edward's white eyes of the simple domino mask he wore today met her blue gaze. She must be around twelve years old.

"Oh, you're the ginger cat!", she launched straightforwardly, not a tab worried, perplexed about his presence here or surprised to see him with her father.

Plainly curious and a hint provocative, she resumed her blunt questioning:

"What are you doing here? Dad finally obtained a date so he brought you home? I don't like much that domino mask, by the way. I prefer your carnival-looking one, that has cat ears on the top of your head. The one you wear when you're on TV. It's the most classy!"

Edward blinked under his mask, puzzled over the girl's introduction.

He turned to Arthur to clear up:

"... You have a daughter?!"

The dude blushed, apparently not planning on doing the presentation between his child and Catlad. It visibly bothered Art his kid showed up while he was having a 'moment' with his associate.

"You don't get to interrupt!", he blamed the, just as blonde, girl. "Aren't you supposed to be... I don't know, at school, or seeing friends, or whatever else you do on Thursday?!"

"My science teacher isn't there this week. She caught something.", she stated patiently, in the same tone as if she spoke to a mentally retarded person; what made Edward chuckle internally and irritated Art beyond compare, according to the vein that throbbed on his temple and his reddening expression. "Since I only had science this afternoon after lunch, I finished three hours earlier today. I had no point staying at school past schedule time, so here I am. Did I use any complicated words that require a definition or are we good there, dad?"

"Go to your room!", he spat angrily, pointing to the stairs with barely contained rage.

When she took the first steps on the wooden stairs, the girl granted Edward another glance and added:

"Nice meeting you, Catboy. Till next time!"

Next time happened no more than a few days later, when Ed stopped by at Arthur Brown's house... not to see the father, but out of curiosity over his daughter.

"... What are you doing here?"

It was late on the evening. Edward arrived at the quarter, he spotted the girl... sitting on the tiles of her house's rooftop, accessible via her bedroom window.

"Watching the sky.", she answered casually. "Sit with me?"

He nested on the roof next to this still-unknown child he felt strangely close to, eying the stars barely discernable due to the dense light pollution in town.

"What's your name?", he murmured eventually, turning toward her his cat-shaped mask, giving a peculiar charm to his appearance.

"You didn't search it up?"

"... I have. But it would have sounded a bit rude of me to call you by your first name while you officially didn't introduce yourself."

The girl giggled.

"Dad speaks a lot about you. I know what he does and his... less righteous activities. You are one of his favorite subjects."

"I may belong to this business, I am nothing like your dad."

"That's what I'm interested to find out."

They shared a peaceful smile.

"Let's do it the conventional way!", she decided afterwards. "Hello Kitty, my name is Stephanie Brown."

"Nice to meet you, Stephanie Brown.", he played along. "Everyone uses my stage name Catlad, my friends also call me Kitten."

"I love your outfit. Are the ears soft?"

"They are. It's felt."

One thing leading to another, Steph... adopted a cat. Only a couple of weeks later, she was out flying on rooftops, as an in-between of vigilante and sometimes villain depending on the mood, in a homemade eggplant attire.

Spoiler cuddled on the couch next to Edward and Isis, in one of the cats' hideouts. Jason wasn't there, too busy flirting outside with Batgirl. Stephanie discovered their names, habits and lovely personalities.

She needed comfort, tonight she wanted to be shushed, hugged, taken care of, reassured. To feel like she matters to someone, that's precisely why she loves so much her friends from the Rogues Gallery, for they are the first persons in her life who remind her she is important. The opposite of how her parents make her feel, she was glad she could avoid interacting with them over the incoming hours.

"You don't have to go back, Steph.", Eddie whispered in a protective intonation, stroking the pre-teen's wavy golden hair.

He wasn't wearing his costume, Stephie removed her white-eyed black hood, her cape, gloves and boots as she made herself comfortable.

"You know you are welcomed here.", he went on, Isis purred and Steph leaned against him. "With us. You don't need to return to their house, give attention to your imbecile of a father and your junkie of a mother. You can stay here. Here or elsewhere in Gotham, our Underworld owns this city."

"Cats are home everywhere they walk, right?"

"Exactly! Thus, so should be an eggplant princess."

Stephanie let out a sweet little sigh, appeased and relaxed at last. Still, she rectified one more thing:

"I like that. But I am no princess. I'm a goddamn _queen,_ I'll take over the world with my eggplant army wearing a waffle symbol."

They laughed, Isis looked up to them with joyous amber eyes. Edward concluded by a proud:

"All hail the queen."

_____________

"Looks like bats and cats are a family affair!"

Jason and Cassandra smirked.

"It's a legacy.", Stray joked. "Gotta keep up dat reputation."

"Does it mean if I make myself a cat costume too, I'll win a bat-lover?"

"Or a Spooky Scary Skeleton.", Jay specified, a metal claw-covered index finger in the air as to imitate his big bro when Eddie gives a lesson on something or shares over science. "Selina and I may have a thing for sexy flyin' rats, Ed is so _fond of_ a brainy straw-stuffed scarecrow."

This was friendly teasing, Jason _loves_ his buddy Jonathan. He calls him his brother-in-law more often than he should, what never fails to make the professor blush crimson and Edward feel all warm and fuzzy.

Right now, the trio landed on a flat rooftop after a night out playing vigilantes. Batgirl rolled up the lower part of her spandex mask to kiss the cat who had pushed up his red goggles on the top of his head. Not gonna lie, they were cute, and perfect together. Even so, Spoiler won't pass making fun of them.

"Fine by me!", Steph stretched lazily while... actually considering it. "As soon as I get a cat-identity, I'll have a priority on next burlap-dressed fellow _or_ bat-shaped costume that appears in town."

Stray, Batgirl and Spoiler laughed wholeheartedly.

They may were joking, _everyone_ foresaw an eggplant cat suit for their little queen.


	8. Turquoise Team

Stephanie rolled the stone between her thumb and index finger, appreciating the feeling of the smooth surface brushing against the skin of her digits.

"What else does it do?"

Jonathan shrugged, in an habitual gesture he pushed up his square glasses on his nose.

"As far as I'm aware, they were active _once,_ when we touched them. Nothing since then."

She frowned. Entirely focused on the blue element, she looked at it as if she expected to witness some memorable oddity. The meteorite suddenly standing up and dansing polka while singing a Disney classic would work.

The burning sensation that invaded her at first contact when she touched the stone dissipated rapidly, replaced by a soothing feeling, as if the... thing, either apologized or deliberately wanted to make her feel better. Both 'communications' left Steph incredibly curious about these strange potentially-alive objects.

"Give me yours!", she ordered consequently. "I must try an experiment."

Scarecrow acceded to her request, amused by Spoiler's determination to step in the shoes of a sorcerer's apprentice studying magical and / or alien rocks.

Stephie sincerely thought she'd obtain a result when she lined up the five stones that activated themselves and the four others, inerts to this day.

"See?", she begun by pointing out the most evident. "There are no symbols on the remaining ones, that proves these appear _depending on_ the person."

"That doesn't justify whether the stone chose it," Jonathan clarified patiently, "or if each symbol reflected the person prior this encounter."

"Jason and I didn't have a trademark sign before."

"While Jon and I had.", Cassandra complemented.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes, she glared at the turquoise fragments which, in return, according to the teenager were _mocking her._

Next to Edward and Jason's, she had positioned Jonathan's rock, whose slick surface sports a vein drawing an elegant yellow scythe, the tip of it reaching near the center of the pendant. Cassandra's emblem was no other than the thin contours of a black bat, identical to the one on her chest, only black on a turquoise background instead of golden on an ocean of black fabric.

She aligned hers, embellished by a little purple sun surrrounded by curved rays. This may wasn't a waffle, she'd go for that icon. It's pretty, polished, it seems to be made especially for her. Albeit puzzled over the reactions, or rather _lack of reactions_ right now, of the rocks, Spoiler already cherished the view of the one that... 'bonded' with her, is that the term?

"You guys are not curious?", she looked up at last, frustrated the stones didn't do anything. "Like, not asking yourself _what_ are those things, if they comprehend our language, and if they have... powers or whatever?"

"It's not like we would visit the planet where they come from.", Edward relativized. "I may be curious by nature, I can isolate subjects that won't meet an answer from topics that _are_ worth investigating."

Stephie pouted.

"I maintain: I think it's weird as Hell not to know more about things you drag along with you for _years._ What if we won't _ever_ know what they are?!"

"Then so be it.", Jason discarded calmly, unbothered by the eventuality while it sounded awfully problematic to Steph not to figure those fragments out. "After all, not everythin' is explicable, some things belong ta... another realm."

"Like what?", the blonde girl jested, chin in the air. "I _dare you_ to find something I can't explain! And if you pick 'too scientific stuff', then I'll switch my dare to Ed or Jon for them to perform the clarification."

This made the others smile. Jay took up the challenge regardless:

"Fine, Blondie. I _dare ya ta explain_ how _we_ are friends, and how our friendship, between everyone in dat room and the others of our group, carries on."

"... You're a clever kitty too, when you want to."

They grinned. They all loved their perfect family life.

"Face it, Lina.", Jason taunted playfully. "We look better than you."

Selina laughed, she ruffled Jay's hair affectionately. The boy was spurting tall... She wondered if he'll be Bruce's height when he'll fully finish his growth.

"Let's say you don't look _any less good.",_ she dithered, eying the teens holding hands.

Bruce and her landed on this rooftop... where Batgirl and Stray already settled, invading the place for a cute date post-street fight. They had a great time punching and beating off thugs plus mobsters, they now enjoyed their shared victory. Batman and Catwoman as for them had a dispute about a 'divergent' opinion: Selina wanted that bracelet made of silver, diamonds and amethysts she planned to steal, while Bruce opposed, refusing to fly away when he spotted her about to rob the jewel.

Therefore, they argued, fought... and ended up flirting, Selina concluded she found what present she wants for Christmas. Bruce concurred to buy it, at the condition she _waits until Christmas,_ without making another attempt at stealing the item.

They debated animatedly, punctuated their replies by a few kisses, strokes... and arrived at a supposedly 'free space' to push their flirt to more intimate interactions. Only, their wards were doing exactly the same, as if by chance, where they landed.

Gotham City is such a small neighborhood, at times.

"Don't do anything you'd regret.", Bruce warned their kids in some parody of a parental figure, primarily speaking for his daughter... but for Jason as well.

It's not secret the Bat genuinely cares about Selina's unofficially adopted boys, as a good step-dad concerned over his girlfriend's psychotic cat offsprings.

"Same goes for you two.", Cassandra mirrored alongside a smirk. "You guys are way more of immature teenagers than us."

Neither Selina nor Bruce could retaliate against this, what amused Jason and Cass dearly. The younger ones flew out of the rooftop soon afterwards, to spend the rest of their night elsewhere.

In the mean time, opting for a quiet evening at their favorite hideout, Edward cuddled next to Jonathan. Stephanie wasn't there, she went out with a civilian friend of hers for a sleepover, whilst Jay played vigilante. The couple was alone at home, they intended to benefit of a relaxing night just enjoying each other's company.

Eddie moved closer. The two of them watched the wonderful lights of Gotham under the night via the large bay window of their living room. Jonathan's arms wrapped around him, Ed leaning into the embrace.

"Life is good.", he whispered, trying to put words onto his current delightful feeling.

Catlad was not convinced he'd be able to define how he feels, for as wonderful as it is he doesn't know how to... analyze it; it goes beyond his logical approach of the world.

"Don't you think?"

"I don't 'think' it is.", Jonathan rejected softly, putting his lips on his boyfriend's exposed collarbone, leaving fluttery kisses against the delicate skin. "I _attest_ I've never been that happy my entire life, and I wouldn't let go of the way things are for the world."

______________

"... They should be there."

Edward blinked once. Twice. His light green gaze riveted on the inside of the massive lockbox, he felt... lost. It took him weeks to accept to undertake this trip. The town itself wasn't that far from Gotham: they reached it in less than a day driving, but it was about the least place on Earth he expected to come back to.

Sure, he wanted to retrieve his rocks, so at some point he would have returned to the hideaway where he stocked them. Notwithstanding this, the prospect of seeing his birthtown again gave him a... fairly _unpleasant_ sensation, akin to the irrational fear of children persuaded a monster lurks inside their closet or under their bed, ready to catch their ankles and drag them to a swamp inhabited by nightmarish creatures.

He agreed at last, took Steph and Jay with him and, for the first time since he ran away, twenty six years old Edward Nygma stepped again in the small city, walked to the lake in the countryside where he spent most of his 'happy' moments from childhood, to then dig up the hatch in the ground where he hid his belongings he hadn't brought with him when he left the village as a pre-teen.

Jason and Stephanie shared a glance. The rest of the meteorite, that kid!Eddie secured in a safe place, vanished from where he was supposed to fetch it.

"Perhaps someone found dat place?", Stray proposed a justification; he put a comforting hand on Ed's shoulder. "Even without an extended knowledge on gemstones, anyone woul' have tried ta sell them. What would work, given how shiny they are."

Edward bit his lower lip.

"If the chest had been robbed," Steph voiced out loud what the trio deduced upon observing closely the setting, as they would for a crime scene when playing detectives, "the lock would have been forced. Maybe the wood of the box would have been broken."

"The entire content woul' have disappeared, too.", Jay completed. "Not just da stones."

Stray bent down, he plunged a hand inside the chest to grab a... book. He wiped off the thick layer of dust with his sleeve, in order to reveal a pretty leather cover, large pages, illustrations inside. It looked like a well-made, beautiful fairytale book for children.

Except the subject differs from a dreamy princess, a dauntless prince charming, an evil queen and talking animals.

"A... book of riddles?", Stephanie read the cover.

Edward smiled.

"I... I've got it when I participated to a contest at school. This book was the prize. I won."

The two hugged him. They spent a long time evoking memories related to the few items Edward stored in that chest. The turquoise stones may disappear, they had a lovely bonding moment asking questions and listening to their Eddie relating tales over his childhood and the objects he kept from this part of his life.


	9. Carry On

"They are... beautiful."

Selina's declaration, that she uttered in a husky tone of voice, accurately summarized what everyone thought. As for him, Edward was legit _crying again,_ even if Steph and him were at the hospital with Jason and, therefore, belong to the first persons who met those little humans, recently arrived into the... extrauterine life.

Everyone was in awe of the babies. They joined Wayne Manor today, they'll discover their new home where a whole welcome party has been organized. Cassandra felt exhausted though radiant, she smiled widely at the people reunited for this 'surprise party' (which wasn't at all a surprise, it remains _super nice_ nonetheless, this is all that matters).

Jason held one, Cassandra the other, to show off their precious newborn twins.

From her perch nested on her father's knees, two years old Helena Wayne looked up to the small creature between Cass' arms. Her blue-grey eyes, identical to Bruce's, reflected an adorable surprise mixed with genuine curiosity.

"Meet your niece Grace.", Cassandra introduced the toddler to the baby in a warm, loving tone.

Helena stroked gently the future-hair-that-is-for-now-a-dark-fuzz covering the baby's skull, reminiscient of a nestling down.

"She 'so pretty!", the little girl exclaimed joyously.

Selina's pregnancy had been expected when Bruce and her, still wearing their Batman and Catwoman aliases, finally settled down. Cassandra's one year and a half later however, was _totally unplanned._ Once the initial shock passed, Jason and her rapidly took the new as what it is: a wonderful evolution in their lives. It wasn't long for them to be over the moon as they realized they will become parents.

Today, Grace and Hunter Todd-Wayne, since Cassandra adopted Bruce's last name years ago, officially unveiled their place of residence and met their extended family.

Something else worth mentioning about the babies is their physical appearance. Naturally, their Chinese inheritance from their mother expressed in their lightly golden skin and jet black hair. Another element showed up; whereas an existing mutation it stays, if not impossible, at least _unusual._ Thus this feature in the babies' face caught the attention right away: their eyes are blue.

Not Jason's shades of blue. Neither his right eye, close to a teal blue shade nor the left one, ocean blue, colored his daughter and son's irises.

They had _turquoise_ blue eyes, identical to the shade of the stones their parents kept in pendants around their neck for years.

Two healthy, round like only babies can be, chirping, puzzled over the strange universe and the multiple excited and / or emotional people surrounding them, newborns with bright turquoise eyes.

Jason tied the stones above each their cradle. He fixed these in the middle of the elegant dolphins, a gift from Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe, that constitue the children's two crib canopies.

It clearly didn't burn when his babies touched the meteorite, instead it initiated a... cheerful, happy reaction: his twins laughed for the first time when they held each a rock in their chubby fists.

"I am not surprised they bonded with one.", Edward had smiled when noticing the symbols freshly appeared on the surface of those stones.

Grace's sketches an orange lighting, that visually seems to split in matching halves the upper part of the turquoise; while Hunter's brown leaf is drawn from the border of the inferior side of the rock. The vein grows from there, its elongated form reaches the middle of the fragment.

If putting one on top of the other, set as in a brickwork style or as two steps of stairs, one could attest the orange lighting and brown leaf converge at a meeting point on the center of both stones, one simply beginning at the upper side of the item and the other from the lower extremity.

"You'll see, their first word risks ta be 'turquoise' or 'stone'.", Jason bet.

At present, the babies slept in each their cradle, the cat brothers gazed at their peaceful expression alongside letting out a fond sigh. Like for Helena, everyone takes care of them, living and experiencing each step of parenthood.

"Not if I succeed at teaching them _my_ knowledge.", Edward bragged. "This time I'll have a baby who says 'riddle' as their first word."

Jason and him chuckled.

Ed indeed tried (and failed) to make Helena say 'riddle me this', what became his catchphrase as he went from part-time vigilante part-time villain to... full-time private investigator who opened his own agency.

For sure, he hadn't given up on the cat costume. Be that as it may, solving cases via the official way became his _main job,_ one he profundly enjoys.

"The real question," Stephanie interrupted as she entered the room, casting a daring glance at her adopted bros plus her nephew and niece, "is what are those li'l guys going to wear: a cat or a bat?"

Beyond the various _jokes_ over what emblem the babies will dress with, between their father and mother's, this is... a major _existential question._ A similar debate lingers regarding Helena, Bruce already plans to make her a Robin no matter what.

The bat-and-cat legacy shall express itself by a... compromise.

_______________

"What will happen when someone bonds with the last one?", Charlie inquired, watching the remaining stone Edward stored inside a jewel box decorated with glazed shells.

"Who knows?", Jonathan relaunched, he stood next to the young adult to eye the rock from above her shoulder. "Probably nothing more: a ninth symbol will add up as someone joins the family."

"Yeah... it will certainly be like that. Gotta validate the complete Nazguls team."

They shared a smile.

Albeit she has her apartment, Misfit regularly stays at Edward and Jonathan's... nearly like Stephanie, who considers herself their _roommate_ and lives with them practically every day. Furthermore, although Jason moved to Wayne mansion, the family often reunites, either in the boys' spacious place in town or in the Manor at its fringe location.

Trusting Eddie's outlines, Scarecrow reformed, the legal manner. Just like Jonathan now, Charlie works at Edward's agency; therefore, neither Steph nor her feel the need to return to each their flat daily, most of the time they go home at the couple's rather than to their own place.

Charlotte's fingers locked around her necklace, on which a vein curled in a pink swirl exactly at the center. She stopped wondering a while ago, but suddenly pondered over the eventuality of a... significant novelty when last one will meet someone.

Said eventuality occurred when the twins were four and a half, eight days after the birth of Stephanie's daughter Taylor.

When a white triskelion materialized on the smooth surface of the last fragment of the meteorite, something changed. Something... woke up.

A long-lost, buried old force that came back to life at last.

The rocks Edward saved in that chest he hid underground chose to land elsewhere when they understood the little redhead abandoned them for many years to come. They divided, then attempted new lives across the world, to find humans or animals for some, that could take them under their wing, with whom they bonded. Each unit of a few stones reacted following the same pattern with their personal living creatures once they found a familiar.

In the unit that lives in Gotham, once all nine of them tied to a soul they connected with, the stones switched to 'phase 2'.

Simultaneously, they fully came to life.


End file.
